Pete Carroll on Richard Sherman and his 'self-inflicted' season

“Richard went through a lot last year, most of it self-inflicted,” coach Pete Carroll said of Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman.

Carroll sat through breakfast with reporters Wednesday in Arizona and answered 60 minutes of questions starting with, and circling back to, Richard Sherman.

“He got out there and he was in the midst of a season that was really challenging for him,” Carroll continued. “If you remember when he did have his issue, it was right in the midst of playing some great players week after week after week, and he was teed up for it and jacked about it and all of that and he was competing like crazy.”

The “issue” Carroll is referring to is likely a culmination of events, starting with Sherman’s sideline altercation with Carroll and offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell over a play call in Week 15 and ending with his feud with, and ultimate boycott of, the majority of local media.

Let’s not forget the MCL injury Sherman battled throughout the second half of the season — which never appeared on the injury report and nearly cost the team a draft pick.

“He’s a fantastic battler,” Carroll explained. “The only thing that happened is that he just didn’t come back to us, he didn’t re-set as he has. He has always found his way to re-set, and he kind of stayed on the edge throughout the season, which was very challenging for him, because that’s a lot to carry.”

While Carroll expects a different Richard Sherman this year — a return to balance and the ability to shoulder the burdens of the game and life in general — he will continue to move forward and do what’s best for the team regardless of whether Sherman is able to “re-set.”

“You’re either competing or you’re not, you know?” Carroll said. “We’ve always had to be open for everything, every suggestion that comes along. There have been some teams that have called and so we’ve talked about it.”

Talked about a trade, that is. Teams have called, multiple teams, and Carroll understands the intrigue of the All-Pro, Pro Bowler cornerback.

“He’s extremely important to our football team, I don’t see anything happening at all,” Carroll continued. “And I don’t see anything happening with any other players by the banter that’s out there right now. It has been talked about and he’s great player and could impact another team, I see why people would be interested in him.”

For now, we wait. We wait to see if Sherman can turn things around, or if the team is offered that magic number that means parting ways with the most vocal of all Seahawks and one of the best corners in the league.

“I’m expecting him to do a really good job, he always has,” Carroll said. “Sometimes the turnaround time just takes a little bit longer than others.”